Improvement in processes of making iron and steel



No. 33,949. y LINEN-N131) DB0. 17, 1861.

` M. LANE. l

PRocBss 0F MAKING IRON AND STEEL.

' fg a.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' MARcUs'LANafoF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA'.

ljMeRovEMENTINPaocsssss oF MAKnNe montarlo STEEL.

y Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,949, datedDecenIber 17, 186i. l

Toll whom it may concern: Beit known that I, MARCUS LANE, of the -city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and Improved Mode ,of Treating Metals, of which 'the following is a specification.

The nature of my invention consists, in the proper decarbonization and purification 'of metal while the same'is ,in the act of rotary motion in a concave-bottomed refining-chamber of a retining-fdrnace auxiliary and-adjacent'to the stack-furnace in which vthe 4metal ise I am aware; however, that the mere productioioffrotary'motiou infused metal isA neither" new or .patentablav and;` I am :also aware'thataijrrhas used -to produce such" ing discovered new and, as I believe, .su por-ini'- ageuts fori .producing such-motion and; decar-.f

ing had to the 'aecOmpanyingldraWngs, forlm-A in'gfafpart of this my specification, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of an ordinary stack-furnace, itshearth communicating with a'relning-furnace, within which, in a refiningchamber, motion tothe metal is imparted and thel decarbouization takes place. Fig. 2 isa horizontal section of the same, and clearly shows the connection between the hearth of the. stack and the refining-chamber of the refining-furnace.V Fig. 3 is-a vertical longi- .tudinal view ofthe refining-furnace, and showsthe connection oflthe refining-chamber with the chimney of the stack-furnace. Fig. 4 isa vertical longitudinal section .of the car'- bon and alkali reservoirs and a portion ofthe pipe upon which they are seated,

In theseveraligures the same v letteis are used to -indicate like oranalogousparts.

A indicates the 'stack-furnace, into which tuyere-pipes b are introduced, asshowin to 'convey blasts of air to the mass of ore in the stack for the purpose of fusing the same. These tuyere-pipes are connected with apparatus for generating the blasts in any of the well-known modes! A I c is the tymp-hole in front of the hearth of the stack-furnrce, through which the fused ,l metalis flowed' into the gutter d, and thence l,in-to refining-chambere of the reining-fur nace previous to the refining process in said refining-chamber. f Y

' G is 'a small furnace situated beneath the re- ,timing-chamber, having doors h h for the introduction of fuel, and anash-pt, i, beneath.

4 The rear of furnace G connects with the chimney of the stack-furnaceA by means of a ue, j, the yii'ue j entering said chimney at a point near the entrance of the same by the tuyere- .pipes.b`,' a'ndagainst oropposite the mass of. .ore upon the grate of thestack-furnace.

K isa door ordamper giving admission .into j the refiuingcha'mber e through opening l, for ythe removal offtheslag'which accumulates upcnthe 'topof the fused' 'metal in the refin- 'ing-chaInbeI-,and which damper, during' the, i'reiningor'decarbonizing process, is closed,

so thatthehlasts introduced into the,refiningA Qhamber, 'as hereinafter described, together wththe gases lwhich accumulate in said cham- ..ber, will'beforced out passage m into flue j,

and thence be passed int-o contact with 'the ore in the stack-furnace.v

having' an air-tight cover tted thereon, as shown.l The interior p of this reservoir connects with channel q of the pipe upon which the reservoir is seated. Connection between the reservoir and the pipe is effected by turning cock T, which, at will, may be made toform a communication between the interior of the reservoir and the pipe below it. Two such. reservoirs are represented in Fig. 3, one

marked N and the other N', the former of which is used to contain alkali audthelatter to contain carbon, as hereinafter described.

Previous to drawing the fused metal from iv the stack-furnace av fire is kindled in furnace' G, beneath the'rening-chalnber e, in order to take'the chill from the met-al produced by l exposure to the air during its transfer from the stack'furnace to the refining-chamber, as

well as the chill which .otherwise would bev produced by the contact of the fused metal with the cold surface of the refining-chamber. I

Themetal in a fluid state is introduced into chamber 'e of the refining-furnace by running the same from the hearth of the stack-furnace A through the gutter d. The gutter d, being placed tangential to the wall of the refining-- chamber e, the metal is caused by itsgravitat? ing impetus to assume a rotary motion within the chamber e by reason of its contact with N, Fig. 4, indicates a cupshaped reservoir, I

through its whole mass, the motion of rotation being such by the means I employ as to cause the metal at the bottom' to pass to the sides of the refining-chamber; thence up the sides of said chamber to the surface, and thence down again to the bottom of the refining-chamber,v

the horizontal rotary motion, the ascent, and vthe descent of the metal creating the vortex or eddy-into which the carbon' is injected,`

'and so in the first instance brought in contact;

with the surface of the metal, and by the-repeated movements of the metal, as above described,nally permeated throughout its whole mass,

When in the loperation of refining metal, as above described, by the simultaneous use of Athe agents employed. the impurities-'in the metal have been converted into slag, and' have also been passed off in the condition of impure gases, the chambers N and N are closed, and the blasts applied through the pipes s and. s'

-being continued causes the immediate 'decar-u A. act simultaneously not only to carry o the impurities in the'nietai-inv the condition of gases, but also theimpurities of the metal in th'e condition of slag.'

- 2; The y simultaneoususe of a carbonizing and decarbonizing agent in treating fused metals, which shall act to delay the nal decarboni- .zation 'of the metalto a timeat which theim- 'purities shall have beenremoved. bythe agents employed. v

3. .The introduction offcarbon at a point above. the 'surface of a "mass of fused, metal Vwhile the'metal is in rotary motion,

4. rlhe introduction-ofthe gases from a re. ning-furnace into the stack' of-a smelti'ng-fur nace-insueh position and in an inliamed state' as to assist in-fusing the ore by beinggpassed .into the smeltingfifurnace in immediate Contactv with the ore.

' 5. Causing the` gases-evolved from the fused metal, and which lhave accumulated .in the re- (ining-cha'mber, to be forced into and among the fusing metal inthe s nelting-furnace.-

6. The introductionof carbonate of vsoda and the alkalies at a point below the surface of the fused metal in a refining-.chamber while thel metal is in rotary motion.;v y

MARCUSLANE. Witnesses: GUsTAvUs DIETREICH, 1 DEWI'rcr C. LAURENCE. 

